Jolt
by Luckie D
Summary: Dealing with nightmares since closing a case, John has one person who can help him in the middle of the night. Rated T to be safe. Only one chapter.


**Disclaimer: Maria is my own creation and John Munch belongs to Dick Wolf and Law and Order: SVU.**

Deep in dark slumber, all was silent in John Munch's apartment. With the bedroom window only opened an inch to allow air to come, the sound that could be heard was the soft snoring from John while his partner and long time lover, Maria echoed him with her even softer sounds of sleep.

Rolling over in her sleep, Maria draped her arm over John's waist and cuddled closer to his back, pressing her forehead against the back of his neck. Even though they both seemed to be at peace, their dreams were overthrown by terrible flashes from the week's case. Unconsciously tightening her hold around John's waist, Maria could feel him tensing in his sleep as she sighed in her own sleep.

Suddenly, John snapped awake with a yelp, knocking Maria's arm off of him. Jolting her out of her sleep, she sat right up, turned on the lamp and wrapped her arms around him shaking body. "Easy, John. Easy," Maria whispered as his heavy breathing slowed and his trembling body steadied. "Steady, sweetheart. It's just me, John."

Turning his head to look at her, his eyes held something she had seen before - pure fear. Specifically, Maria knew it was the case that was scaring the man.

The case had involved a man, Joseph Millian, who had targeted older men on the streets, bond them, and tortured them for hours before killing them in slowly and painfully. Once they had the warrant for his arrest, the team had caught Joseph in the middle of torturing his latest victim - a man who was still in critical condition. Once they had busted into the room and pinned Joseph down, John could have felt the bile rising in his throat at the sight.

And now, here he was. Jolted awake from a terrifying nightmare that had been haunting his dreams and being cradled against Maria as she shushed him. Keeping his eyes on her, John took in a slow breath and released it, before speaking, "Maria?"

Pressing a soft kiss to his temple, Maria gently caressed his jaw line and whispered back, "Yes, it's me. It's just me, baby." Resting his head on her shoulder, Maria gently ran her fingers through his hair as he continued to take deep breaths to steady his shakes. "Easy, love."

"Can...I have some water?" John tilted his head and stared up into her eyes. "Please?"

Unwrapping her arms from around him, Maria extracted herself and kissed his lips softly. "Sure thing." Grabbing a tall glass and filling it with cold water from the kitchen, Maria sat down beside him as she handed it to him. Intertwining her fingers with one of his hands, she watched as he drank it down and hoped it was going to help. "Feel better, John?"

Grasping her fingers as he nodded, John placed the glass down and pulled her into a one armed hug, keeping their fingers linked with that one hand. "Thank you so much, Maria." Pressing his face into her neck, he released her hand and wrapped it around her as Maria's hand went to help relax the tense muscles in his neck. "I'm so sorry I scared you like that. I couldn't help it..."

Shifting so Maria was leaning against the headboard, she held him close and spoke softly to him. "It's okay, John." Maria reached for the comforter that had been almost thrown off the bed when he snapped awake and draped it over them for warmth. "To be honest, I'd be concerned if you were not having issues with that case." She looked down and gave him a small smile as he glanced up at her, her index finger creasing the lines of his face. "I'm serious, sweetheart."

Resting his head back down on her chest and released a raged breath. "I knew you would know it was that case, Mar. It scares me to think someone could do something so awful as what he had done to those men." His voice was barely above a whisper as he started to drift back to sleep. "Can I go back to sleep now?"

"You sure can," She placed a kiss on top of his head as she shifted them both so they were laying down. Humming softly, Maria waited until she could hear his soft snoring and pulled the comforter closer to keep them both warm. Placing her hands on his back and massaging the tension from his back , she heard him giving a relaxed groan that made her smile. Keeping one arm around his back, she placed her other hand on the back of his neck and soothingly caressed him. "I'm right here, John."

**-End!**


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